A Comparison of the effects of preterm birth and institutional deprivation on child temperament
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Both preterm birth and early institutional deprivation are associated with neurodevelopmental impairment - with both shared and distinctive features. To explore shared underlying mechanisms, this study directly compared the effects of these putative risk factors on temperament profiles in six-year-olds: Children born very preterm (<32 weeks gestation) or at very low birthweight (<1500 g) from the Bavarian Longitudinal Study (n = 299); and children who experienced >6 months of deprivation in Romanian institutions from the English and Romanian Adoptees Study (n = 101). The former were compared with 311 healthy term born controls and the latter with 52 nondeprived adoptees. At 6 years, temperament was assessed via parent reports across 5 dimensions: effortful control, activity, shyness, emotionality, and sociability. Very preterm/very low birthweight and postinstitutionalized children showed similarly aberrant profiles in terms of lower effortful control, preterm = -0.50, 95% CI [-0.67, -0.33]; postinstitutionalized = -0.48, 95% CI [-0.82, -0.14], compared with their respective controls. Additionally, postinstitutionalized children showed higher activity, whereas very preterm/very low birthweight children showed lower shyness. Preterm birth and early institutionalization are similarly associated with poorer effortful control, which might contribute to long-term vulnerability. More research is needed to examine temperamental processes as common mediators of negative long-term outcomes following early adversity.
Original language | English |
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Journal | Development and Psychopathology |
Volume | 32 |
Issue number | 4 |
Pages (from-to) | 1524-1533 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISSN | 0954-5794 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2020 |
Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:
© Cambridge University Press 2019.
- behavior regulation, early adversity, institutional deprivation, preterm birth
Research areas
ID: 393158789